Islamic Radicalization in the Uk: Index of Radicalization
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ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION IN THE UK: INDEX OF RADICALIZATION Anna Wojtowicz, (Research Assistant, ICT) Sumer 2012 ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to analyze the process of radicalization amongst British Muslims in the United Kingdom. It begins with a review of the Muslim population, demographics and community structure. Further presenting several internal and external indicators that influenced and led to radicalization of Muslim youth in Britain. The paper concludes that there is no one certainty for what causes radicalization amongst Muslims in United Kingdom. However, it is certain that Islamic radicalization and the emergence of a homegrown threat is a growing trend that jeopardizes the countries security, peace and stability. Radicalization in the United Kingdom is an existing concern that needs to be addressed and acted upon immediately. Misunderstanding or underestimating the threat may lead to further and long term consequences. * The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT). 2 I. Introduction 4 II. Background 5 History of the Muslim Community in the United Kingdom 5 Population 7 Geographical Concentration of Muslims 8 Ethnic Background 10 Age Estimate 11 Occupation and Socio-Economic Conditions 11 Religious and Cultural Aspects 13 Multiculturalism 17 Islamophobia 20 Converts 21 Case Studies –London, Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, Leicester 22 III. Organizations 28 Organizations within the United Kingdom 28 Mosques, Koranic Schools and Islamic Centers 34 Student Groups 40 Islamic Websites and TV 43 IV. Radicalization in Britain 43 Theoretical Background and Causes of Radicalization 43 Recruitment and Radicalization: Overlook 47 Radicalization Process 49 Forms of Financing 51 Radical Groups and Movements in the UK 53 Influential Leaders in the UK 60 Inspiration and Influence from Abroad 67 Sunni 67 Shia 70 3 V. Islamic Terrorist Activity in the UK (2000-2012) 71 Terrorist Attacks and Plots: Case Studies 71 List of Arrests, Charges and Extraditions of Terrorist Suspects 88 VI. United Kingdom Responses 96 VII. Conclusion 98 Bibliography 100 Appendix 4 I. Introduction The September 11th 2001 terrorist attack on American soil triggered an international discussion regarding terrorism as a new global security threat. As a result of the attack many countries adopted new domestic and international counter-terrorism laws and raised concerns regarding the Muslim presence in the United States and Europe. Before 9/11, the United Kingdom was not on major alert regarding possible terrorist attacks nor was it focused on the issue of Islamic radicalization until the 7 July 2005 bombings in London. The attack had not only an enormous impact on the country’s perception of domestic security, but further influenced the continuation of the rise of radicalization amongst the British Muslim community. There is no one reason or explanation for why certain individuals are prone to radicalization. However, the fundamental factor in the recruitment and radicalization process is the organizations ideology and the individual’s belief that violence is the legitimate tool towards solving problems. Islamic ideologies create security risks and cause tensions between communities. Radical Islam is widely considered to be in conflict with democratic principles and has largely overtaken British traditional values by imposing its own. Organizations and individuals responsible for radicalization only became apparent and emerged into the public domain after the 7/7 attacks. The attack caused psychological distress to UK citizens. For the officials, the problem of domestic radicalization as primary trigger of terrorism became evident. It is equally important to mention that despite the homegrown Islamic terror threat and growing radicalization in the United Kingdom, the majority of British Muslims are upstanding citizens, who feel a part of the British community and oppose terrorist attacks. The following paper examines the radicalization and rise of Islamic extremism amongst a significant number of British Muslims, whose extreme vision of Islam has led to their disintegration and isolation from British society. Although the United Kingdom is comprised of four different nations – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – the primary focus of this paper is on England, where the main radicalization takes place. The first part of the paper presents an overview of the history and structure of the Muslim population and approach of British society towards the Muslim community. The second part focuses on radical social organizations that engage or support terrorist activities and furthermore, on the internal aspects of the Muslim community, which play an important role in Muslim radicalization. The third section details the radicalization process and examines radical groups, movements and leaders in the United Kingdom, as well as the international sources influencing the radicalization of Muslim society. The forth part presents case studies of Islamic terrorist activity and plots in Britain over the last twelve 5 years. The fifth section describes the United Kingdom’s counter-terrorism steps over the past several years. The final section concludes the paper by evaluating the implications of the main findings. II. Background History of the Muslim Community in the UK Muslim presence in the United Kingdom (UK) is not a new phenomenon. It dates back more than one hundred years back and has deep roots in British history. However, there is little awareness amongst today’s population that Muslims are not foreigners in British society. They influenced the growth of Britain and contributed to the country’s growth and reconstruction of after World War II. The first interaction between the British and Muslims dates back to the eighth century and the trade links between Mercia, Islamic Spain and Portugal. Former Christian territories gradually became influenced by the Islamic world in the tenth century. This influenced the expanding perception of Muslims as spiritually deviant and anti-Christian, which led to religious sanctions and further to military and material Crusades against such influence.1 Intermarriages were known to have taken place between Muslims and non-Muslim Britons during the Crusades.2 The first Muslims to arrive to England’s shores were mainly North Africans and Turks.3 As a result of British colonization of Muslim territories in the 1800s, many Africans, South Asians and Middle Easterners resided in Britain.4 Although the Lebanese arrived in the 1860s, the first large groups of Muslims to arrive, settle and form one of the country’s first Muslim communities were the Yemeni sailors in the late 1800s to areas such as Cardiff, South Shields and Liverpool.5 They settled in British port towns and through the years became part of the immigrant labor force in industrial cities.6 Furthermore, they established the first Islamic schools and the first mosques, which had commercial and mercantile interests,7 and printed the first British Muslim-Arabic newspaper in Western Europe, Al Salam from the Nur al-Islam Mosque.8 The first mosque created in the United Kingdom of Britain and Ireland was Masjid-e-Abu-Harairah in Cardiff in the year 1860; the second was the 1889 Shah Jahan Mosque in Woking. During the nineteenth century, many Brits converted to Islam. The most prominent and early British Muslim convert was solicitor William Henry 1 Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Muslims in Britain. An introduction, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 11 2 H. A. Hellyer, Muslims of Europe. The ‘Other’ Europeans, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, p. 145 3 Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Muslims in Britain. An introduction, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 13 4 H. A. Hellyer, Muslims of Europe. The ‘Other’ Europeans, Edinburgh University Press, 2009, p. 148 5 Ibid., p. 148 6 Fred Halliday, Britain’s First Muslims. Potrait of an Arab Community, I.B. Tauris, 2010, p. x 7 Stefano Allievi, Why a solution has become a problem, Alliance Publishing Trust in NEF Initiative on Religion and Democracy in Europe, 2010, p.18 8 Sophie Gilliat-Ray, Muslims in Britain. An introduction, Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 39 6 Quilliam, who was directly connected to the emergence of the Muslim community in Liverpool. He helped build the first mosque, Islamic center and orphanage in Liverpool where Christian orphans were raised as Muslims.9 The arrival of Abdullah Ali al-Hakimi to South Shields brought the practice of Islam into the streets and public consciousness.10 Even though at this time the Muslim community was still small, it had an immense number of supporters and grew through local converts, many of whom were well known in their communities and part of the expanding Yemeni population.11 With the British Empire’s rule ending in South Asia, sections of India were divided and Pakistan was created in 1947.12 The partition caused ongoing fights and consequently many Muslims from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh arrived to Britain in search of a better life.13 As a result of World War II, Britain faced a shortage of labor due to deaths and the immigration of its citizens. In order to restore and stabilize the economy, the British government encouraged migration and advertised jobs in its former colonies, mainly the Indian sub-continent and the Caribbean. The legislations of 1948, which altered the status of all colonial British migrants into citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies,